One of the top rules of finding success with online tools is applying consistency. While it's definitely a great thing if you share a blog post more than once a week, I think it's imperative that you post AT LEAST once a week. The main reason? It builds trust with your readers that you'll have something to share regularly and gives them a reason to visit regularly.

So today's task is not about making things complicated; it's just about keeping it real.

*****

Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Plus, sign up for free e-mail updates from this blog in the top right-hand corner of the page.

86 comments:

I had today's post "in the can" since the w/e. I wrote about my experience meeting Jill Smokler (Scary Mommy blog author) over the w/e. Since Jill is featuring a post of mine on her blog next week on 4/26, my "call to action" was to encourage my readers to go check out her blog Scary Mommy.com that day and to share the post around.

As far as frequency of posts, I used to post pretty erratically on my old blog, sometimes going a month or more w/o updating it.

But then I kind of got into it ( I had to do SOMETHING to get away from the laundry!), and now I post every day. I have found having a schedule really helps me with this. The schedule I keep is:M - Mirth Monday - something funny like a cartoon, or some quotes from a comedian.T - Adoption Tues - adoption issuesW - Wordless Weds - a photo or artwork from me or one of my kidsTh - random musingsF - Farm Friday - anything related to my life on a farm.S - randomS - Sunday Social - a family member or pet is introduced (with 8 in the family and 3 - 4 dozen critters, I'm still working on this feature a year later with no repeats).

On Mondays, I've started a short series on discussing classic American literature pieces (2x a month) and I may branch that out to include modern flash fiction. I'm not sure if this'll be a permanent series or not.

Wednesdays I try to post something writing-related, like a short story, or past work I've done, or progress in my writing for the week.

Anne, that is exactly how I order my blog--with general themes for each day of the week.

Your post doesn't have to be a call to action, Misky. Just include a call to action at the end of the post. For instance, I usually have a message asking people to sign up for e-mail updates and connect with me online.

Jennifer and Lauren, I think I started off once a week, moved to three days per week, and this year I've been getting close to daily. More important than the frequency though is the consistency. Keep it up!

I post on a regular schedule also. I knew with a full time teaching job that I could manage four days a week. I wrote two posts last night and scheduled them. I find using SEO like using a thesaurus. I know what I want to say, I need to choose certain words. I plan to write another post or two today.

I posted a new entry last night, but I'm afraid it doesn't have a clear "call to action," so maybe it doesn't count. It is linked to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, so please go have a look and maybe consider what I have to say about developing fictional characters a call to action . . . Or maybe I'll go back and revise it and re-post. Here it is:"Consider the Two-headed Coneflower: Character and Oddity" at http://bit.ly/HTLROV.

I also have a new short story out today--"Pieces" at Prime Number magazine: http://bit.ly/IRcH3I. Please check that out, too! (Shameless self-promotion!)

I also post on a regular schedule. I put a blog post up every other day, so I'll be writing my blog post and posting it tomorrow. I'll make sure to keep SEO in mind and have a call to action at the end. Thanks!

Yesterday's task got me thinking about SEO to the point that I went back to my most recent previous blog post and changed the title and added several relevant keywords that I had missed.

For today's assignment I had two potential topics in mind - one a nifty piece about writing, the other an entirely unrelated personal post that arose from my daily walk in the park near my home. The first would provide all sorts of opportunities to show off my new found SEO prowess, and would be directly relevant to our group exploration of platform building, etc.

So of course, I ended up writing the second one!

But as I finished it, and sat here wondering what exactly it has to do with my platform, I realized that the basic approach to building an audience and interacting in a positive way with my readers, with all the little things that you've suggested we do to strengthen those connections, can be applied to pretty much anything I write.

So here's what I've accomplished in the process of taking today's post from 'writing exercise' to 'share-ready':

- I've written a piece that demonstrates my writing ability and provides a glimpse of my personality;

- I've included a relevant photo to reinforce the tone of the piece and to increase its visual appeal;

- I've added several keywords from yesterday's list, even though I initially thought that I wouldn't find any that were suitable to this particular topic;

- I've included an inviting action item that reiterates the main point of the piece and asks for readers' reaction to the dilemma that is discussed;

- I've included links to several previous posts that are similar in nature.

And of course, I've posted links to this piece at my social networking sites.

For any of my fellow Platform Builders who I might have missed in the process, the piece is called "The First Warm Day of Spring," available now at my blog, at:

Done. My main keywords so far are pain, multiple scersosis, facial pain, trigeminal neuralgia, and then secondary ones. I've been doing the call to actions for each post and giving people many options to subscribe to my blog. And also SEO.

I'm participating in the A to Z challenge this month, so I'm already bombarding my readers with daily posts, that have been pre-scheduled.

I'm looking forward to getting back to "normal" blogging, three times a week, and when May rolls around and I'm doing that, I will be considering my titles and keywords carefully with thought of SEO, as well as including calls to action. That will have to do.

On an SEO note, I get many google alerts for different search terms, and I noticed that yesterday, for one term related to children's literature, my blog post was first in the list, even above the "official" site for that topic. I must be doing something right!

I wrote a blog about why I think Twitter is so valuable for writers (on the heels of one earlier in the week, giving my 5 best tips), and ended it with a call to action that encouraged discussion of different social media, with links to connect with me at 4 of them. SEO for the article was Twitter and writers. Both blogs about twitter have drawn more hits than other blogs, so clearly that's a popular topic. I also followed another staple rule, to share the wealth, including mentions and links to 3 writers I've engaged with.

Although I write and sell magazine articles I’m primarily a photographer. I do editorial photos for magazines plus stock agencies, but many of those images I can’t put on the blog because they are proprietary. Also, I cannot repurpose an article until it has been published. If I don’t have an image or series of images to share I find it really hard to get inspired to write a post. Maybe my thoughts should be more towards photographing something every day for blog purposes. Creating fiction for Sophie Storm and artistic content for Media Tala has also slipped because of work. So much to catch up on!!!

I completed my blog on gardenofedenblog.com and have twittered it. Unsure how to make those links though. Will try the linkedin one .. and if I get brave enough will do the FB link. As always I enjoy the comments.

Did this for the first time yesterday with two of my blogs, and I am on the road today, so please give me a pass and let that count! Just kidding (not about the posts). I still have another blog I should do this on. Later, MUCH later today.

Just checking at lunchtime and seeing that my a.m. post here didn't take, so I guess I'll say "done" again.

This time, I even managed to include a call to action. And I'll do something similar with this comment. Today is Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), and today's Practicing Writing post addresses how my book of short stories helps support Holocaust survivors. If you read only one of the posts I mention in the comments here this month, please read this one. Thank you.

And yes, I agree with everyone who finds themed posts to provide a helpful structure. That's how I can post on Practicing Writing 5X/week.

Utopia on Earth? That is the subject of today's blog post. I wrote about what two psychics told me about upcoming changes on Earth. Then, I sent it to Facebook (which didn't quite work because it won't send it to my fan page) and to Twitter. I also suggested that my readers share it with their networks.

I had a nightmare when I was a corporate profit forecaster where umbrellas were falling on me. At first I was swatting them away, but then the pattern changed. I woke up yelling "Inconsistency is Problematic!" I still can't hear the word consistency without some panic and a good laugh.

Frequent updates are easy for me, because mine is a poetry blog and I'm writing like a mad woman this month. Even on a normal week, I write to 2-5 prompts, which means frequent blogposts. I've not mastered the art of the call to action yet, but will be incorporating this more and more.

I am still stumped about yesterday's application, regarding Wordpress. Is "key words" the same as "tags?" And if not, how do I find out about key words on Wordpress? Or do you just mean I should be including certain words in my poems/posts (or maybe comments section after poems?) to be sure the post comes up in a search engine? Can someone please enlighten me on all of this? No response to yesterday's questions for Robert...

Thanks for the challenge Robert. Now here's mine for all of you. My sister-in-law challenged us to tell ONE OTHER PERSON the story of her daughter with pediatric cancer. Here it is on my blog: http://bit.ly/HLHiSh

I update my personal blog fairly regularly because I use it to keep track of my writing process. Today I tried a more formal entry - passing on some of the main techniques I use for creating suspense. http://dumpygrace.blogspot.ca/2012/04/tips-for-writing-suspense.html

I also remembered to put links on various other sites. It will be interesting to see if the straightforward title results in more hits.

I was reading the Books page on the Huffington Post and decided to make a comment. I had to join their network and, lo and behold, I joined another Social Media site without realizing it. I thought I was just posting a comment, but now it's tracking my "friends," etc.

I've done the assignment for today. I did a new post on my Calliope blog since Claudsy's Blog is maintaining the PA presence with its poetry.

Today's post on Calliope was the 5 new steps that I've created for myself to keep myself motivated and on task through my writing day. I began these steps when this challenge began and they've been working very well for me.

There are days when they get scrambled in precedence simply because of outside factors, but they get done somewhere in the day, plus a few others.

My blog is set to automatically tweet and post to FB. I still have to take the time to get it on the others as well.

But Robert, today's not my day for posting on my writing blog. I do need to post to my company blog, but it will need to wait until after dinner. I'm still not feeling the SEO assignment, but it will fit better there than on melodypearson.com. At least, I have a clue who the audience is intended to be on madisonvilledesign.com.

I know I should be consistent, but my life is so inconsistent. I don't know how y'all do it. This week I had four jobs (one cancelled) and tonight I got home after 9pm after helping friends with a funeral (my day started at 8am). Every week is different.

But I need to do it! So, incoherent as my writing would be now, I'll start an outline so I can finish a post tomorrow.

I've finally completed the task. I blogged on my professional site earlier this week so I posted tonight on my personal site. I incorporated the call to respond at the end, and tried to update for SEO optimization. Hopefully I did it right.

I did today's task, and need a focused hour or two to do SEO (which I've sort of been doing, but I want to try the tools you gave us). So I'll get to that tomorrow or Saturday.Today was easy-peasy, and I already automatically link to all my social networking sites.I did include a call to action (tell me your story) and asked for follows/email sign-ups at the end.

DAY 19 DONE!!! I did it yesterday. My blog posts for adult children of aging parents can be found at www.startingthe dialogue.wordpress.com. I post on Wednesday and Sunday and try to always throw out a question or call to action. Of course, I've only been blogging for 2 weeks, but learning so much. Liked your blog today Robert Lee Brewer. Very appropriate!

In process. Because my blog isn't ready just yet I can't say that I'm done. But I will be working on these tasks in a couple of months I enjoy reading you posts and the comments. I'm further along by working this challenge than if I were doing this alone.

Robert, thanks for writing your encouraging words. Even writers who are accustomed to most of these social networks can feel overwhelmed when adjusting to actually using them on a constant basis. I'm still enjoying the challenge and connecting on Twitter with other writers. I can't remember when I connected with so many people at one time that weren't relatives.

I moved up my Friday Blog post up to today, I usually post twice a week, once on Tuesday and Once on Friday so it is equal apart and keeps content fresh on given days. I'd love your thoughts, it's located

Okay, done, but I couldn't post the blog because I belived – optimistically – I could manage my blogger blog from my iPad. Perhaps a more savvy user could, but not moi. Tomorrow I'll find the business center at the hotel and get it set up from there. Whew. Anyway, it is done.

In response to Pat Walsh, your choice to write about "the other" topic was the right one. Nice writing that turned compelling at about the point (3rd paragraph) that I usually stop reading and start scanning.

As for my blog: Why am I still writing when I could turn out a short version of a speech I gave tonight?

All of you seem to be great bloggers! I'm impressed. I, on the other hand, need to improve. I only have time to blog once a month. But this challenge has pushed me to my limits. I can't believe this will be my 3rd blog in a month! WooHOO!

I started this blog when I started the contest. It is still finding its voice, but has been hitting some surprisingly high notes already. I was planning on posting 5x a week according to a theme for each day. Now thinking about posting a week's recap on the weekend which references past week and promos the coming one. Looking at stats a lot now to gauge how readers are interacting. This is my 1st week this system has been in use. Excited about the results, feedback & traffic. Couldn't have done it w/o all of you. Thx

Done--I did this one on the 19th with my post titled "you have the 'write' to write to writers", which encourages writers to take advantage of writers who publicly share their contact information to show appreciation and let the writers we love know that in the communal act of writing and reading and sharing we are all connected! There's also now a permanent "call to action" at the end of each post encouraging readers to connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and to sign up for email updates.

I actually posted a new blog article on the 19th titled "Emperor of the World" about a book of poetry I'm working on about my adult son who has a chronic mental illness. Some of the poems are humorous, some more serious.

I did get reactions to it on my facebook page from of couple of my contacts there.

Ok,I wrote it on 19 April then promptly misplaced it soRewrote & posted yesterday.

Robert, I've found that writing to the PAD prompts seems much easier (even writing two [or more] poems a day) than all my worrying over the Platform Challenge. It's like all my angst is focused on the Scarey things here & uncluttering (unbinding?) my unconscious mind. Of couse, I Also just came off a 4 month writing dry spell. :)

Robert - Just a crazy update. I wrote a post regarding my niece's cancer and National Ependymoma Awareness Day. Surprisingly, the folks who sponsored that day, the CERN Foundation, picked up my blog post on their FB news feed! I only found out about it because Campbell's mother was checking out the feed and saw her own daughter's picture! Just wow!

I have written my Wednesday post and it will go live tomorrow. I have been posting consistantly for nine months, three days a week. With your help I now have a check list that includes call to action and incorporating keywords. My posts are much better with your help. Thank you.

Will I ever catch up with all these exercises? I finished Day 19 on Day 24, with a blog post entitled "The Romans and the Jews" on one part of my trip to Rome (at http://cernwife.blogspot.com). I used Twitter and Facebook to post links to my site, and I also put what I think are keywords in Bloggers' labels. So now it's on to Day 20...

My calls to action are generally just a question at the end of my blog, asking for my readers' opinion or preference. Sometimes I invite my visitors to share their experience that relates to my post. I haven't had too many remarks other than people encouraging me to keep doing what I'm doing. This isn't exactly what I'm looking for, so I am studying how to adjust my 'call to action' at the end of each post.